16 COMMENTS

Learning Torah is the Yisod of Klal Yisroel.
I don’t understand, why is it that in the entire Tenaach, where there are countless stories and detailed episodes, of the Yidden during Bayis Rishon and part of Bayis Sheini, but yet, there isn’t even one mention, in any Posuk, of somebody learning Torah?

Tongue in cheek, I would answer, the same reason why midos are not mentioned as part of the Torah – the underpinnings of Judiasm are not mentioned (R’ Chaim Vital – Sha’ar Hakedusha. However, a simple persual of Chumash will reveal most of Chumash is Limud Hatorah and not ‘stories and episodes’. Many Halochos are learned out of what is stated in Tanach, and the actions taken by those mentioned in Navi(for example, the Issur of speaking Divrei Chol on Shabbos is based on a pasuk in Yeshaya). Without learning Torah constantly, how would the people mentioned know the minute detail of Shabbos law to know how to act? As the Gemara in Nedarim writes, why was the Beis Hamikdash destoyed, because they did not make a Bracha on Limud Hatorah first, and as the Ran explains, because, they did think Torah was important enough to make a Bracha.
There are many more examples, but space limitations and moderators make any more details extraneous

@ R Mordechai,
You need to learn Tanach with the M’forshim. Tanach is full of accounts of individuals and Klal Yisroel learning Torah. One can’t fully understand Tanach without learning with a Rebbe and/or the M’forshim.

However, you fail to relize what Tanach and the Torah is. It is not a story book. It teaches us how to live, and it comands us many many many times to continuously learn Torah. What is the first Perek of Shema all about? Always learning.